Thursday, January 18, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – Lauryn McGough broke the Great Northwest Athletic Conference pole vault record last week at the UW Preview, topping a list of notable performances in the conference’s return to the track to kick off the new year.
The Central Washington freshman was named the GNAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after posting the fourth-highest mark in NCAA Division II this year at 13’ 3.5” (4.05 meters) at the Spokane Indoor Challenge.
Following a week in which eight of the league’s nine teams were in action, only two will take to the track with a pair of meets on tap running Friday-Sunday.
GNAC Indoor Track & Field Schedule - Jan. 19-21 |
Date |
Meet |
Location |
Start Time |
GNAC Teams Competing |
1/19-20 |
Lauren McCluskey Memorial |
Moscow, Idaho |
9:30 a.m. (PT) |
CWU, WOU |
1/21 |
Portland Indoor #1 |
Portland, Ore. |
Noon (PT) |
WOU |
GNAC Indoor Track & Field Athletes To Watch |
Annika Esvelt, Seattle Pacific
Esvelt’s name is a familiar one among the GNAC running community, and the SPU junior got her indoor season started with a similar degree of success that has come to be her standard throughout a decorated cross country and track career. Opening up at the UW Indoor Preview last week, Esvelt checked in with a time of 9:41.62 in the 3,000 meters to earn herself an early provisional qualifying mark. Esvelt’s time was the 11th fastest in the young Division II season, and she was just over three seconds off her PR in the event of 9:38.43 which she set during the 2021-22 indoor season. Look for Esvelt’s name to be a constant presence among the GNAC’s distance events throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Ryan Greenwalt, Western Washington
The GNAC’s best 60 meter time of the season thus far was posted by Greenwalt, who crossed the line in 6.87 seconds at the UW Indoor Preview. It was a PR for one of the conference’s longest-tenured athletes, whose career dates back to the 2019-20 season. Greenwalt also put forth the conference’s best long jump mark of the season, posting a leap of 22’ 5” (6.83 meters) last week. Greenwalt was an all-conference performer in that event at both the GNAC Indoor Championships and GNAC Outdoor Championships during the 2022-23 campaign.
Destany Herbert, Northwest Nazarene
Herbert earned all-conference in the shot put for the first time by finishing second at the GNAC Indoor Championships in 2022 and hasn’t looked back since. The long-tenured Nighthawk followed up by winning the title at last year’s indoor and outdoor events and has picked up right where she left off to start this season. Herbert got her name on the preliminary qualifying list last month by unleashing a toss of 46’ 4.75” (14.14 meters) at the Spokane Invitational. Look for Herbert to remain a strong contender to defend both of her titles as the 2023-24 season progresses.
Kevin Angarita, Alaska Anchorage
The reigning GNAC champion in the 400 meters got his 2023-24 season off to a good start, posting the league’s best time of the year at 48.67 seconds at the UW Indoor Preview. Angarita won the GNAC Indoor title in the event last winter with a time of 48.70, before doubling down with the GNAC Outdoor title in a personal-best 47.59 seconds last spring. The third-year Seawolf provided evidence that he’s poised for another stellar campaign, running a personal-best 60-meters time of 7.06 seconds last week as well.
GNAC Track In The Weekly Coaches Poll Rankings |
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association releases national and regional rankings throughout the 2024 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. The first set of rankings will be released on Jan. 22-23.
USTFCCCA National Rankings - Men's Indoor Track & Field |
Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Week 1 - 1/23 |
-- |
-- |
USTFCCCA National Rankings - Women's Indoor Track & Field |
Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Week 1 - 1/23 |
-- |
-- |
USTFCCCA West Region Rankings - Men's Indoor Track & Field |
Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Week 1 - 1/22 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
USTFCCCA West Region Rankings - Women's Indoor Track & Field |
Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Week 1 - 1/22 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
2024 Provisional National Qualifying Marks - Women |
Event |
Athlete |
School |
Mark |
Date |
Meet |
60 Meters |
E'lexis Hollis |
CWU |
7.38 |
12/9/23 |
Spokane Invitational |
60 Meters |
Marie-Eloise Leclair |
SFU |
7.38 |
1/13/24 |
UW Indoor Preview |
3,000 Meters |
Annika Esvelt |
SPU |
9:41.62 |
1/13/24 |
UW Indoor Preview |
3,000 Meters |
Ila Davis |
WWU |
9:45.70 |
1/13/24 |
UW Indoor Preview |
60 Meter Hurdles |
Lauryn Chandler |
CWU |
8.75 |
12/9/23 |
Spokane Invitational |
High Jump |
Emy Ntekpere |
CWU |
1.74m |
12/9/23 |
Spokane Invitational |
Pole Vault |
Lauryn McGough |
CWU |
4.05m |
1/12/24 |
Spokane Indoor Challenge |
Shot Put |
Destany Herbert |
NNU |
14.14m |
12/9/23 |
Spokane Invitational |
Shot Put |
Katie Potts |
WWU |
13.82m |
1/13/24 |
UW Indoor Preview |
2024 Provisional National Qualifying Marks - Men |
Event |
Athlete |
School |
Mark |
Date |
Meet |
3,000 Meters |
Kevin McDermott |
WWU |
8:10.96 |
1/13/24 |
UW Indoor Preview |
Date |
Meet |
Location |
GNAC Participants |
Final Results |
12/7/23 |
Bobcat Preview |
Bozeman, MT |
MSUB |
Results |
12/9/23 |
Spokane Invitational |
Spokane, WA |
CWU, NNU, SPU, WOU |
Results |
1/12-13/24 |
Spokane Indoor Challenge |
Spokane, WA |
CWU |
Results |
1/13/24 |
UW Preview |
Seattle, WA |
UAA, SMU, SPU, SFU, WOU, WWU |
Results |
1/13/24 |
Myrle Hanson Open |
Spearfish, SD |
MSUB |
Results |
2023-24 GNAC Track & Field Athletes of the Week |
Date |
Women's Athlete of the Week |
Men's Athlete of the Week |
Dec. 11 |
E'lexis Hollis, Central Washington (Track) |
Brody Kemble, Northwest Nazarene (Track) |
|
Emy Ntekpere, Central Washington (Field) |
Justin Conklin, Western Oregon (Field |
Jan. 15 |
Marie-Eloise Leclair, Simon Fraser (Track) |
Kevin McDermott, Western Washington (Track) |
|
Lauryn McGough, Central Washington (Field) |
Drew Klein, Central Washington (Field) |
The 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held Feb. 19-20, 2024 at The Podium in Spokane, Wash. All nine conference institutions will compete at the event.
The 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held May 10-11 at the Recreation Sports Complex on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The event will be preceded by the GNAC Combined Event Championships, which will take place April 29-30 at Civic Stadium in Bellingham, Wash. All nine GNAC track and field programs are eligible to compete in both the combined event championship and the outdoor championship.